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Facility amenities: Business center, Wi-Fi, fitness center, whirlpool and pool, executive lounge, on-site casino, spacious meeting rooms and two on-site restaurants.
The hotel is able to offer airport shuttle services for an additional charge. This service must be booked in advance directly through the hotel.

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Elevator: Yes

Additional nights before: Subject to availability.Please contact your program provider at 1-800-866-7111 or roadscholarprograms@holbrooktravel.com for questions about room availability and prices. Room types and rates are subject to availability.

Day One: Wednesday, March 19 - Departures from the U.S./Arrivals in San José, Co...

Arrive To: Arrive in San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport.

Proceed through Immigrations, Baggage Claim and Customs before exiting the secured area of the airport. Please use the exit door on the right. The Road Scholar representative will be waiting outside the exit door with a Road Scholar sign (only applies to Road Scholar group flights).

Transfer to the hotel and check-in, followed by time at leisure.

Please note that this is an international travel day; no meals or program activities are scheduled on this day. Hotel check-in usually begins at 3 p.m.

Description: The Talari Mountain Lodge is a birder's paradise, located a few miles northeast of San Isidro el General, in El General Valley. The lodge's secondary forest, river access, and extensive gardens help to attract hundreds of bird species as well as colorful butterflies and a variety of mammals.

Description: Rainforest lodge located near La Gamba Village and Piedras Blancas National Park and only 30 minutes by car from the Golfito airport. Its important contributions to the local community and good environmental practices have earned it a "three-leaf" Certificate for Sustainable Tourism from the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ITC). Accommodations are provided in attractive tiled roofed bungalows, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and accessed by well-maintained gravel paths.
The Esquinas Rainforest Lodge's efforts to minimize its environmental impact include: composting organic waste and using it as fertilizer for their organic vegetable and fruit garden, using energy saving light bulbs, collecting and filtering rain water, using a waste water treatment plant for kitchen waste, using a pressure pump rather than harsh chemicals to treat their pool, using biodegradable detergents, and participating in a carbon offsetting program.

Los Cusingos Bird Refuge is part of the Don Alexander Biological Corridor which reaches as far as the Chirripo National Park and has elevation ranges of 2,624 ft – 12,532 ft. The 192 acres of protected lands were once part of the farm owned by Dr. Alexander Skutch, a respected naturalist and prolific writer (co-author of “A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica”). The small and simple house where Dr. Skutch lived and worked for more than 60 years is now kept as a museum—the Skutch-Lankester House Museum. Nature lovers can observe and admire local flora and fauna through a system of trails that weave through the reserve’s pre-montane wet forest. Tanagers, honey creepers, parrots, falcons, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers are often seen here as well as a number of mammals including: agoutis, sloths, tayras, and monkeys.

Description: Rainforest lodge located near La Gamba Village and Piedras Blancas National Park and only 30 minutes by car from the Golfito airport. Its important contributions to the local community and good environmental practices have earned it a "three-leaf" Certificate for Sustainable Tourism from the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ITC). Accommodations are provided in attractive tiled roofed bungalows, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and accessed by well-maintained gravel paths.
The Esquinas Rainforest Lodge's efforts to minimize its environmental impact include: composting organic waste and using it as fertilizer for their organic vegetable and fruit garden, using energy saving light bulbs, collecting and filtering rain water, using a waste water treatment plant for kitchen waste, using a pressure pump rather than harsh chemicals to treat their pool, using biodegradable detergents, and participating in a carbon offsetting program.

Morning: Enjoy a guided walk on lodge trails. Elevations for this day average from between 100 to 300 ft.

The local bird checklist includes 362 species, many of them considered as specialties that are either endemics or easily found here, for example the Great Curasaw, Spectacled Owl, Rufous-winged Wodpecker, Olivaceous Piculet, Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager and Rudy-breasted Seedeater, amongst others. The grass fields and marshes around the lodge are the habitat for many species of water birds and shorebirds like herons, egrets, wood storks, ducks and spoonbills.

Return to the lodge.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: After lunch, search for birds during a walking exploration of open pastures and rice fields located in the vicinity of the lodge.

Las Cruces Biological Station is an important tropical research facility and a center for teaching and environmental education run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). Station facilities include classrooms, a laboratory, an auditorium, and a library with an herbarium. This mid-elevation site is responsible for protecting more than 300 hectares of premontane wet forest habitat and was declared part of the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1983. Variations in elevation, ranging from 3,280 ft - 4,592 ft, contribute to the station's rich diversity of flora and fauna, including more than 400 birds, 113 mammals, and 2,000 plant species.

Lunch: At the biological station.

Afternoon: Guided birding in the gardens and feeder stations at Las Cruces.

Las Cruces Biological Station is also home to the world-famous Wilson Botanical Gardens. In addition to educating the public about tropical ecology and conservation, the garden is used as a training ground for scientists in the fields of tropical botany, horticulture, and sustainable development. The botanical garden displays a mix of tropical and subtropical ornamentals including a number of rare and endangered plants from Costa Rica and other parts of the world. Paths are clearly marked and color-coded, leading guests around plantings of bromeliads, ferns, heliconias, orchids, palms and others.

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Day Six: Monday, March 24 - Birding Activities at Las Cruces.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the station.

Morning: Birding along the Java River Trail. Elevations for this day are at approximately 2,500 ft.

While birding at Las Cruces, we hope to spot some of the mid elevation birds of the Pacific side of the Talamanca Mountains such as Speckled Tanagers, Scarlet-Thiged Dacnis, Blue-Crowned Motmots, Violaceous Trogons, and Turquoise Cotingas. Stay vigilant for Coto Brus Valley species such as the Streaked Saltator and Charming Hummingbird.

With the Panamanian border located just a stone throw away, it is not surprising that a few species have begun to make an appearance into the area including the Pearl Kite, Crested Oropendola, and Veraguan Mango.

Description: The Savegre Hotel Nature Reserve and Spa is located in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica. The hotel is at an elevation of approximately 7,220 ft and is situated in a private cloud forest reserve that borders the Los Quetzales National Park. Its private reserve has earned a reputation for being one of the best places to spot the elusive Resplendent Quetzal--one of the country's most colorful birds.
To reach this attractive highland property it is necessary to travel on switchbacks and narrow mountain roads reaching elevations of up to 11,000 ft at Cerro de la Muerte.

Room amenities: Rooms have private baths and heating system or fireplace. No air conditioning is necessary since the hotel is located in a mountainous region (approximately 7,220 ft above sea level) known for its clean and crisp air.

Smoking policy: YesSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Day Seven: Tuesday, March 25 - Birding Introduction to Cerro de la Muerte Area a...

Birding Introduction to Cerro de la Muerte Area and San Gerardo de Dota.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the station.

Morning: Depart for Cerro de la Muerte area with birding en route. Elevations for this day range from 2,500 ft up to 11,000 ft, ending at appoximately 7,000 ft in the San Gerardo Valley.

Stop at the highland oak forest habitat near La Georgina and the Cerro de la Muerte areas in search of the endemic Fiery-throated Hummingbird and other interesting species such as Black and Yellow Silky Flycatcher, Volcano Junco, Timberline Wren, and the Zeledonia.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Arrive at the lodge and check-in.

Short guided walk along local trails.

Lecture: History of the San Gerardo Valley and the Resplendent Quetzal.

Description: The Savegre Hotel Nature Reserve and Spa is located in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica. The hotel is at an elevation of approximately 7,220 ft and is situated in a private cloud forest reserve that borders the Los Quetzales National Park. Its private reserve has earned a reputation for being one of the best places to spot the elusive Resplendent Quetzal--one of the country's most colorful birds.
To reach this attractive highland property it is necessary to travel on switchbacks and narrow mountain roads reaching elevations of up to 11,000 ft at Cerro de la Muerte.

Room amenities: Rooms have private baths and heating system or fireplace. No air conditioning is necessary since the hotel is located in a mountainous region (approximately 7,220 ft above sea level) known for its clean and crisp air.

Smoking policy: YesSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Day Eight: Wednesday, March 26 - Birding on Forest Trails.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Bird along the upper trails of a local oak forest.

The San Gerardo Valley, approximately 7,000 ft, combines highland oak and cloud forests with open grasslands and forest edges, attracting a variety of birds including large numbers of Resplendent Quetzals. In addition to quetzals, the region is also home to a number of birds only found at this elevation range like Collared Trogons, Emerald Toucanets, Fiery-colored Tanagers, Marbled Wood Quails, Long-tailed Silky Flycatchers, Buffy-Tuftedcheeks, Golden-browed Clorophonias, Elegant Euphonias and Tufted Flycatchers.
Return to the lodge.

Smoking policy: YesSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Day Nine: Thursday, March 27 - Introduction to Birding in Turrialba.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Depart for Turrialba area with birding en route.

Lunch: At local restaurant.

Afternoon: Arrive the lodge and check-in.

Birding at the lodge feeders and surroundings. Elevations for this day range from 7,000 ft up to 10,000 ft, descending into the Guarco Valley down to Tuis de Turrialba at approximately 3,000 ft.

The Rancho Naturalista encompasses 125-acres of protected pre-montane Caribbean slope rainforest in the Talamanca Mountain Range. A network of trails traverse the forest, providing access to the hummingbird feeders and hummingbird pools which attract the rancho's signature bird, the Snowcap.

Smoking policy: YesSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Day Ten: Friday, March 28 - Birding on Forest Trails.

Breakfast: Early morning birding.

Breakfast at the lodge.

Morning: Birding on lodge trails. Elevations for this day are at approximately 3,000 ft.

Look for some of the lodge's listed species such as Montezuma Oropendola, Crimson-collared Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Sunbittern, Gray-headed Chachalaca, White-crowned Parrot and Collared Aracari.

Lunch: At the lodge.

Afternoon: Birding in the woodland feeders and hummingbird pools.

Some species regularly spotted at the feeders include the Green-breasted Mango, Snowcap, Violet-crowned Woodnymph, Long-billed Hermit, and White-necked Jacobin.

Description: The Wyndham San José Herradura Hotel and Convention Center has 229 spacious rooms with modern conveniences and a long list of amenities that are meant to accommodate business travelers as well as vacationing families. It is conveniently located a short distance from San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The hotel has earned a Level 3 Certification for Sustainable Tourism by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.

Day Twelve: Sunday, March 30 - Departures from Costa Rica/Arrivals to the U.S.

Depart From: Transfer to the Juan Santamaria International Airport for flight to U.S.

Note: Participants with independent travel arrangements and/or scheduled on later flights can keep their hotel rooms until check-out time on this day. Except for breakfast, all other meals are on your own on this day.

Important information about your itinerary: Please know that while we do everything we can to finalize all aspects of our programs well in advance, there are logistics that occasionally must be altered. Our website will reflect the most recent information, and we are committed to providing you with final program details no later than eight weeks prior to the start of programs outside the U.S. and three weeks prior to the start of programs within the U.S. If you ever have questions about your program, please don't hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

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The latest in light, portable, easy-to-use QUIETVOX listening devices are available on Road Scholar programs.* Whether you are outdoors, in a crowd or in a museum environment where speaking loudly is discouraged, a listening device makes it feel like our experts are speaking clearly and directly to you. Hear for yourself on a Road Scholar adventure!

*Please note that due to the nature of some programs, the remote location or government regulations, listening devices may not be available. If you’d like to know for sure if your program will offer listening devices, just call and ask an Advisor!